US Envoy Meets with Rebel Leader in South Sudan: Calm Restored in CAR
January 13, 2014 in Central Africa Republic, South Sudan
Efforts to broker a ceasefire in South Sudan continue as a United States special envoy, along with other mediators, hold a meeting with rebel leader Riek Machar.
Reports have indicated that US special envoy Donald Booth met with Mr Machar at an undisclosed location in South Sudan. Mr Booth later indicated that mediators would continue to press for the release of jailed associates of Mr Machar for them to attend peace talks in Ethiopia. A rebel spokesman has also indicated that a ceasefire would be signed if Mr Machar’s associates were freed. Hussein Mar Nyout has also dismissed claims made by the South Sudanese government that is forces were now in full control of Unity State. He also described as baseless a government allegation that forces loyal to Mr Machar had damaged oil facilities there.
Calm Restored in the Central African Republic Following Leaders Departure
In the Central African Republic, after weeks of sectarian clashes, restive calm has returned to the streets Bangui, with banks, offices and markets re-opening. The country’s interim leader has also announced that the days of looting and revenge attacks were over.
Sources on the ground have reported that local residents of Bangui now feel safe enough to leave their homes across the city. The police have also returned to the streets while some local residents have stated that the city is the busiest it has been for a year. Many believe that this feels like a turning point as in recent weeks, there has always been at least one district, whether Muslim or Christian, where violence has resulted in people staying at home.
Following the rebel leader’s resignation on Friday, interim leader and speaker of the provisional parliament Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet vowed that the “anarchy” that has gripped the country would be swiftly brought to an end, adding that “the chaos is over, the pillaging is over, the revenge attacks are over.” He also issued a stern warning to warring militiamen from the Seleka group and the anti-balaka Christian fighters set up to oppose them. Speaking at a police headquarters in the capital Bangui, he stated “to the ex-Seleka, to the anti-balaka and the lovers of looting, I’m giving you a severe warning: The party is over.”
The return of soldiers and police to duty was another encouraging sign for the CAR after weeks of horrific sectarian violence. Over the weekend, hundreds of people lined up to re-enlist in the army, following an appeal from the chief of staff. Many of them had either deserted after the rebel takeover, or left in order to join the vigilante groups.
In recent months, the capital city has been riven by sectarian violence, with about 20% of the 4.6 million population said to have fled their homes.
Following months of fighting, Michel Djotodia seized power in March 2013, effectively becoming the CAR’s first Muslim leader. Although he later disbanded his Seleka rebels, attacks on Christian civilians around the country continued, prompting the formation of vigilante groups, which targeted Muslims. On 10 January 2014, following intense pressure from the CAR’s neighbor’s, Michel Djotodia, along with Prime Minister Nicholas Tiengaye, stepped down. The transitional national council now has two weeks in order to select a new President.
While the situation in Bangui is calm, the mood could quickly turn. On Monday, the Redo Cross reported that about fifteen people were killed ove the weekend, confirming that a degree of tension throughout the country
The CAR’s interim President and Prime Minister Resign
January 10, 2014 in Central Africa RepublicThe Central African Republic’s President Michel Djotodia has resigned at a regional summit that is aimed at ending the violence that has engulfed the country. Prime Minister Nicolas Tiengay has also announced his resignation. The announcement, which was released in a statement by the ten-nation Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), was met with jubilant scenes throughout the CAR’s capital city Bangui. Shortly after the announcement was made, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for a replacement for Mr. Dojotida “as soon as possible.” On the ground in the CAR, French tanks have deployed around the presidential palace in Bangui in order to prevent protests.
Sources have indicated that on Friday, just before 0300 GMT, the regional leaders suspended their talks and requested that the CAR interim parliament draft a deal for President Djotodia and Prime Minister Nicolas Tiengae to step down. Over the past few weeks, Djotodia has come under fire for failing to stem the spiralling violence between mainly Muslim former rebels who brought him to power last year and militias formed by the Christian majority. Although he is due to step down when a transition period expires in a year’s time, his inability to rein in chaos across the country has prompted calls for a swifter change in leadership.
Over the past few days, regional leaders, and the CAR’s entire parliament, gathered in neighbouring Chad in a bid to end sectarian violence that has engulfed the country. Chadian President Idriss Deby, who had stark words, seen by many as a push to remove Djotodia, or at least to curb his powers, opened the summit. During his opening statement on Thursday, Chad’s president indicated that “the CAR is suffering deploy from the actions of its own sons, who are dragging their country down into a war that jeopardises its future.” President Deby called for “concrete and decisive action” to halt the violence that has pitted Muslims against Christian self-defence militias and which has resulted in the death of more than 1,000 people in the past month. On Thursday, ECCAS secretary general Allami Ahmat, a former Chadian foreign minister, stated “the solution must come from the Central Africans themselves,” adding that “neither ECCAS nor the international community have come to change the regime….It is up to those responsible (in the CAR) to decide the fate of their country.” All 135 lawmakers from the CAR flew to Chad on Thursday, where they were ordered by African leaders at the summit to draw up a proposal on their president Michel Djotodia’s future. As the high-stake talks took place in N’Djamena, thousands of residents in the Central African capital Bangui took to the streets, demanding that Djotodia resign. Regional leaders are anxious to stem the crisis as there are fears that the unrest extends beyond the CAR’s borders. Officials at the United Nations have warned that both ex-Seleka rebels and CAR former solders have crossed into the volatile Democratic Republic of Congo, causing local residents to flee.
Mr. Djotodia, the CAR’s first Muslim leader, seized power in March of last yea. Since then, twenty per cent of the population have fled their homes amidst intense fighting between Christian and Muslim militias. Since December 2013, and the arrival of more region peacekeepers and French troops, around 1,000 people have died in sectarian clashes. Many villages are now deserted and over the past month, the number of those who have fled the home has doubled, including almost half of those living in the capital Bangui. Furthermore, while mass slaughters have mostly ceased in Bangui itself, amidst frequent patrols carried out by peacekeepers, sporadic killings carry on almost every night. Officials at the United Nations have warned of an impending humanitarian disaster. Some 100,000 people have set up camp in one tent city near Bangui airport, close to the peacekeepers base. UNICEF has warned of a potential disaster in overcrowded camps in and around the capital city, where thee have already been several cases of measles, which could be deadly.
European Union nation states are considering whether to join in the French and African peacekeeping operations in the country, with a meeting on the issue scheduled for Friday.
CAR Security Update
December 11, 2013 in Central Africa RepublicOn Tuesday, officials in France vowed to continue their mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) after the death of two elite soldiers, which have highlighted the risks of a mission that aims to disarm rogue rebels who have plunged the country into chaos. The death of the two French soldiers came hours before French President Francois Hollande visited the country.
First French Losses
Antoine Le Quinio, 22, and Nicolas Vokaer, 23, both members of the 8th Parachute regiment that is based in Castres, south western France, died overnight Monday after being caught up in a fierce fire fight during a night patrol in the capital city of Bangui, where sectarian clashes last week killed hundreds. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian confirmed the first French losses, stating that they would have no impact on the tactics or the size of the 1,600-strong force that Paris has deployed in its former colony. Claude Bartolone, speaker of France’s National Assembly, told reporters that the soldiers “were injured and very quickly taken to the surgical unit, but unfortunately they could not be saved.”
The French troops, along with African peacekeepers, had launched an operation on Monday to forcibly disarm militiamen who claim to be part of a new national army. After last week’s clashes, in which the Red Cross has indicated that 394 people were killed in three days of fighting, tensions throughout the country remain high, with fear of continued violence. While the French army has indicated that it had restored some stability in the capital by Monday night, low-level violence continued on Tuesday.
Following a request from France, the United States announced on Monday that it would help fly African Union (AU) peacekeeping troops into the CAR. According to a spokesman for US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, US forces have been ordered “to begin transporting forces from Burundi to the Central African Republic.” US President Barack Obama has also called for calm and has asked the CAR’s transitional government to arrest those who are committing crimes.
Presidential Visit
Meanwhile President Francois Hollande arrived in Bangui on Tuesday after attending a memorial service for South African former president Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg. Upon his arrival, the French leader paid tribute to his country’s two fallen soldiers. During the short visit, the French President is expected to meet with Michel Djotodia, the country’s interim president.
Francois Hollande has defended France’s military intervention in the CAR, stating that it was necessary to avoid a bloodbath. Speaking in Bangui, the French leader stated, “it was time to act. In Bangui itself, nearly 400 people were killed. There was no time to procrastinate.”
Elections
France’s envoy to the United Nations announced on Tuesday that his country wants elections in the CAR to be held “as quickly as possible,” preferably by late 2014. Speaking at UN headquarters in New York, Ambassador Gerard Araud told reporters that “in light of political tensions on the ground, it would be preferable to have elections as quickly as possible, that is to say in the second half of 2014,” adding that “if the elections could take place in the second half of 2014, in the fall of 2014, that could be positive.” Currently, the CAR has a deadline to hold legislative and president
Central African Republic
January 7, 2013 in Region Specific GuidanceTravel Summary:
Armed rebels have taken control of a number of towns throughout the northern and central regions of the Central African Republic (CAR). As such, due to the instability that has developed in the CAR over the past several weeks, MS RISK advises against all travel to the provinces that have directly been affected by the conflict.
The security situation in the CAR has drastically deteriorated during December 2012 and the current situation in the country is continuing to rapidly change and evolve. Armed groups have been active in the west, east and north of the country and many areas outside of the capital city are lawless. Foreigners, including aid workers, have been killed and many have been the target of kidnappings and violent crimes on a number of occasions. The security situation is particularly dangerous in the orders areas and in the north-western and eastern regions of the country. The United Nations peacekeeping mission (MINURCAT), which was previously deployed in the north-easter region of the CAR, has withdrawn its military component.
MS RISK also advises against all travel to the capital city of Bangui due to the tense and unstable security situations. Fighting between government forces and armed opposition groups have previously occurred in the capital. The security situation in Bangui remains to be unpredictable and it may rapidly deteriorate. Armed rebels who have captured 2towns in other parts of the country may in the near future seek to advance on Bangui. Reports have indicated that the rebels have taken the town of Sibut, and that they may now be just 75km north of Bangui. The CAR military has set up several checkpoints throughout the capital city and a curfew is currently in place between 19:00 and 05:00.
MS RISK also advises against all travel to the following provinces: Kemo, Ombella-M’Poko, Vakaga, Bamingui- Bangoran, Ouham, Ouaka, Ouham Péndé, Nana-Gribizi, Haute-Kotto, Mbomou and Haut Mbomou. We also adivse all but essential travel to Basse-Kotto, Lobaye, Mambéré-Kadéï, Nana-Mambéré, and Sangha-Mbaéré provinces due to continuing instability and reports of banditry.
Domestic News:
The Central African Republic (CAR) has suffered decades of political upheaval and military crises that have had serious consequences on all of the sectors within the country. The most recent rebel offensive to hit the country began in December 2012 and has continued into the new year, with no end in sight. The crisis began when the Séléka coalition of rebel fighters accused the President of reneging on a peace deal and demanded that he step down. This resulted in the rebels launching an offensive in the northern strategic city of Ndele which caused many residents to flee. Since then, the rebels have seized a number of towns, regional capitals and mining areas in the northern region of the country and have threatened to march towards the capital.
Although the rebels had halted their advance and agreed to take part in talks, which lead to fresh hopes of a peace agreement being reached, the political and security situations remained to be unclear. In turn, the fate of President Francois Bozizé continues to hang in the balance as the rebels have indicated that they may continue to insist that he be removed from power. Although the president has pledged that he will not run for a third time in the next presidential elections, which are scheduled to take place in 2016, there are increasing signs that rebel demands for him to step down may affect negotiations.
The United Nations Security Council has raised its concerns at the advance made by rebels in the Central African Republic, which as of this past week, has brought them extremely close to the nation’s capital city of Bangui. The UN Security Council has also renewed its call for a negotiated solution to the crisis. International diplomats are set to been in Gabon to participate in talks at are aimed at resolving the current crisis in the CAR. The discussions in the Gabonese capital of Libreville come one day after the United Nations called on the CAR government and rebels to end the violence and to instead return to a more peaceful dialogue.
Instability is nothing new in the CAR, which has faced political unrest since it gained independence from France in 1960. The country has witnessed a number of attempted coups and it has suffered scores of civilian casualties as a result of internal and international rebel incursions. Insurgencies in Chad, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the Congo have all affected the country.
